#Kept being like laura its bad weather why are you going down there in BAD WEATHER

[freebooter4ever]

I do enjoy watching the games after they happen both bc anxiety but also bc it lets me take attention span breaks.

ALSO i know its silly, and superstitions are not real, and i can logic my way out of it, but i stillllllll feel like SIGH if i had only managed to get out of bed long enough to do the thing on sunday. Like i said i would if the rangers won sat night, and then i got sick as a dog, and couldnt physically make the drive, and there's still a part of me thats like ITS MY FAuLT i jinxed my team ;_;

[shadowsshowdown]

Deus Ex: Human Revolution Shadow’s Showdown 66

The blue among black.

Detroit. Connor's apartment.

Laura stood a few steps away from the Aston Martin, expecting an answer. During her visit to Rupert, she had almost forgotten that her wounds had not yet healed, and now they reminded her about their presence with a piercing pain twisting her mouth in an unnatural grimace. The whole situation overwhelmed the woman more and more, and Connor wasn't making anything easy for her.

"We'll talk about it at home, okay?" he suggested with calmness in his voice. "You're tired, and barely staying on your feet because of the pain. Please don't protest."

A long, loud sigh answered him. Calm, Dale always was calm. Sometimes even suspiciously and unnaturally as if someone had programmed him, she thought. The woman nodded and got into the car. Had it not been for the pain, their conversation would have turned into an argument, one of those similar to a hurricane. During all the travel they remained silent. Dale decided not to try to change this fact and focused on driving the car, which moved smoothly on the asphalt and braked gently at pedestrian crossings and red lights. Even when he stepped on the gas to overtake the car in front of them, he did so with great accuracy. At such moments, it's better to take a step back than to impose himself by talking about the weather. He turned on the radio but as soon as the first words of a song came from the speakers he immediately regretted it.

In our headlights, staring, bleak, beer cans, deer's eyes On the asphalt underneath, our crushed plans and my lies Lonely street signs, power lines, they keep on flashing, flashing by (flashing)

The lies, his lies, with which he fed Laura, were unforgivable, and being aware of this, he continued to press on with this shit. He continued pretending to be a model friend and a knight on a white horse. Someday shit will hit the fan, and the price he would pay would be enormous. He reached out looking for the button to turn off the radio when he felt the touch of her hand on his.

"Leave it on. I like this song," she said quietly.

So he had to continue to endure this torture but despite his desire, he did not protest. He bit his lip so hard that he immediately felt the sweet-metallic taste of blood in his mouth.

And we keep driving into the night, It's a late goodbye, such a late goodbye And we keep driving into the night, it's a late goodbye

When they reached the house, he helped her take off her jacket and shoes. In doing so, he expected a terrible argument, but Laura was calm. Too calm for what she had accustomed him to. She marched to the bathroom and then straight to bed before he had time to suggest it to her. Dressed in his pyjamas, he joined her moments later, handing her a mug of hot cocoa.

"Wounds bothered you a lot when we were at Rupert's?" he asked, turning a grey mug in his hands. For her, he prepared a blue one. He bought it on purpose, though he knew it would disturb the harmonies of the grey. Maybe that's not a bad thing? "Yes and no," she replied. "I forgot about the pain for a while, but then it reminded me about its existence."

Connor turned the mug in his hands again, giving by that an expression of nervousness, and looked at his reflection peering at the surface of the brown liquid. "I didn't tell you about Adam and the funeral because I saw the state you were in. I knew it would have killed you. I was afraid, so damn afraid. That's why I kept silent."

Honesty, a step forward, a step toward being a better person. Am I sure I’m still human? Where does humanity end? Maybe I am already a machine? - these questions have haunted him for many years. He set his mug down on the nightstand and wanted to go to sleep but when he turned his head he encountered Laura's green, sparkling eyes. They seemed unnaturally large and extraordinarily beautiful to him. They attracted him, hypnotized him, tempted him. He fought the temptation, although anyone else in his position would certainly have given up without a fight and seized the opportunity. He wouldn't, despite how close they had become in recent times. Despite how much events had brought them together. He trembled more and more overwhelmed with fear.

Your breath hot upon my cheek and we crossed that line

He did not know when it happened, but their lips joined in a long, passionate kiss. His struggle proved futile, and he felt bad about it. It went against all his principles, yet he couldn't break the moment. They had already kissed at Sarif's ball, but then it was completely different. It was just a game. At least that's how he explained it. He wanted to push Laura away, but his hands froze in mid-motion. The body stopped listening to commands. It gave up.

You made me strong when I was feeling weak and we crossed that one time Screaming stop signs, staring wild eyes, keep on flashing, flashing by (flashing)

Her lips were soft and sweet, perfectly balancing the bitterness ingrained in him. Laura was very forceful, perhaps even slightly insistent. He could have sworn she stroked his palate with her tongue, but maybe it was his imagination that was more creative than usual. They lingered like this in non-being, somewhere between waking up and dreaming, in a stagnant silence broken only by the hum of cars that passed by his house from time to time. When he decided to get carried away with the moment and accepted that he was lost, she cut the kiss by pushing him away slightly.

"I'm sorry, that was inappropriate. I don't know what I was thinking. I'm stupid." She looked away, embarrassed, blushing, beautiful. "We're just humans, and humans do all sorts of strange things. Apparently we both needed it," Connor replied calmly, though he did not know by what miracle he was able to put aside his emotions. Embarrassment came later and was even greater when he realized he had used the word "both." "I gave you unnecessary hope," she said. "Nonsense. We've known each other for a while. If there was going to be a fiery feeling between us, it would have happened long ago." He lied. The feeling had long since burst into flame, but only he knew about it. "But…" "Forget about it," his voice now took on a firmness, sounding almost like an order. He had to, otherwise things would get bad. "Fine," she replied, gaining a slight smile. "If you had told me about the funeral earlier, I would have bought flowers," she changed the subject, sensing that Dale was not at all easily distanced from her gesture. "I don't have anything suitable to wear." "Relax, there will be plenty of time in the morning. We'll drive over to your place and then to the flower shop." "Mhm…" she muttered.

Laura fell asleep before Connor had time to add he should change her dressing. He covered her with a quilt and a moment later fell asleep beside her himself. He should go to the other room but didn't have the strength. Besides it could look awkward in the current situation and negate his earlier statement.

The morning broke into Dale's sleepy reality with a loud purring and merciless scratching of his belly. He probably would have ignored this fact had it not been for the accompanying excruciating pain and the simultaneous feeling that the room was terribly hot. His sleepy gaze soon sharpened on the big cat eyes staring at him.

"Stalker…" he muttered quietly, not wanting to wake Laura.

He blinked several times trying to catch the focus of his vision and verify he was at his home. Moments earlier, he had been sitting in the cockpit of the spaceship, typing in the coordinates of the planet he was about to travel to on the touch screen. Master Pai Mei gave him an important quest to find socks. Not just any socks. One was to be right, and the other left, both in a perfectly harmonious grey colour. He visited plenty of empty planets, asked the locals, and was even in a nightclub where he intended to rest before departing but the place was uninteresting and only a few people were lazily swaying to the fast pace of electronic music so he decided to move on. After dozens of hours of travel he had about a hundred pairs of socks but none of them formed that perfect pair so he continued to fly aimlessly and the journey seemed endless.

As he untangled his legs from under the quilt, he noticed he was wearing jeans and a thick wool sweater. This was more ridiculous than his dream. He hurriedly took the cat in his arms and marched to the kitchen. Through all the commotion, he forgot refilling the food dispenser. In the process, he replaced the water in the bowl with clean water, while incessantly thinking why he slept with his clothes on. He was sure he had put on his pyjamas but maybe through fatigue he only thought so. The clock ticking on the wall announced it was about seven in the morning, so he was going to change his clothes, go back to bed and indulge in a little more sweet laziness. On his way to the bathroom he saw his pyjamas lying on the floor, his jacket right next to it, his cap carelessly thrown on the cabinet and his muddy shoes, one of which was lying near the door and the other standing by the pouffe. Once he had put all his things in order, he noticed a scarf hanging from a lamp. He pulled carefully at its end while sighing helplessly. He suspected it was Laura who had played a prank on him however he could not ask her about it. Having changed his clothes, he marched to the bedroom and, sitting on the edge of the bed, slipped his slippers off his feet, placing them perfectly evenly next to each other. The tip of the left slipper was already beginning to rub through, making it less grey than the other at this point, which irritated Connor immensely. That's why it was so hard for him to accept he could leave his clothes scattered and his shoes dirty. Unfortunately, in addition to further analyzing the bizarre event, he was quickly overwhelmed by new concerns about how Laura would behave at the funeral. He sincerely hoped nothing untoward would happen.

An hour later they were sitting together in the kitchen eating breakfast although it was more Dale who swallowed the prepared meal while Laura bit into her sandwich maybe twice. They didn't talk much beyond the necessary communication. When they finished, Connor went to the bathroom, while Laura returned to the room and prepared her clothes to go out. Dale, mindful of Laura's condition, tried not to rush her, but there was not as much time as he assumed.

"I'm sorry for being so clumsy. We'll probably be late," she sighed with resignation as she tried unsuccessfully to zip up her jacket. "We'll make it in time if you know what you want to wear and what flowers to buy," he replied, helped Laura deal with the zipper and corrected her cap, which was tilted to the right a bit too much.

A quarter of an hour later they were already outside her house. Connor wanted to go with Laura, but she assured she could manage on her own and it wouldn't take too long. Actually, she wasn't lying, although what she was wearing made his fears confirmed.

"I don't think you have any intention of…" "Yes I do," she replied in a firm tone, interrupting him in mid-sentence. "But…" "If you want to be on time, you'd better save the remarks for yourself," she added. "You've obviously forgotten we're going to a funeral, not a party," he didn't want to give up but if they were going to make it in time, he had to give in to her so he sighed, let out the air loudly and started the engine.

On the way, they stopped in front of a flower shop. Dale didn't want to know what she would come up with this time. She came out carrying a bouquet of forget-me-nots and an amaranth orchid. He had hoped for something more appropriate but it could have been worse. Connor drove the car as perfectly as he behaved every day, and that irritated Laura, especially today. If she had been the one driving, at least a few times she would have allowed herself to exceed the speed limit or speed up when the light changed from green to red. She had a feeling that even Adam wouldn't be so by the book.

Detroit. Cemetery.

The cemetery, placed near the church, was not large, making the gathered people crowd like ants in an anthill. Rectangular space was fenced with a stone wall, having not many gravestones on it and a few old trees. Laura recognized some of the faces she saw in the company corridor. There were those obnoxious whores, who saw in Jensen only a nice ass, and also those who would most willingly get rid of Laura. Her observations were interrupted by a sudden tug on her arm. The woman's gaze went straight to the source of the gesture.

"It's good you came. Otherwise, I would have torn you apart with my own hands," she heard Faridah's quiet but extremely aggressive tone. "Although I should for what you’re wearing." "Let her go," interrupted Connor firmly. "You don't even know what kind of hell she's been through." "Are you going to defend her now?" she snarled, stepping back and intertwining her hands on her chest. "We'll talk about it later and in another place. For example, at my house after the funeral," he suggested. "Be that as it may. Now follow me. After all, you are more important than half of these insincere colleagues."

Malik paved the way and soon they found themselves next to Pritchard, Athene and David Sarif. Frank looked odd, to say the least, in his black coat and panama type hat. There were also two people there whom Laura didn't know but guessed were probably Adam's parents. The man stood confidently on his feet, upright with his head proudly raised. He was tall, slim and athletic, bringing to mind a security guard or military officer. He gave the impression of someone of icy character as if he didn't care he had lost his son. He wore a perfectly tailored black coat and an elegant hat. Next to him stood a woman, rather slim and reaching the man's shoulder in height. She couldn't see the faces of both of them because at the moment they were standing with their backs to her, exchanging a few words with Sarif, who was so nice that if she didn't know him she would get caught in those business tricks.

Before the ceremony began, it started to rain, which momentarily turned into thick snow. Soon a sea of umbrellas spilled over the cemetery, and Connor looked triumphantly at Laura, who only sighed. Before they got out of the Aston Martin she had argued with him about the umbrella he now held over his head and hers. The anticipation was increasingly unbearable. She felt like she was hearing whispers, accusations and remarks. She wouldn't have cared so much if it had been about appearance. Unfortunately, they were talking about the fact that she was the one who contributed to the death of Adam and many other people. She wanted to run away, to disappear, to squander everything she had worked out during her visit to Rupert. The woman looked behind her trying to find the best route of escape, carefully planning every move. Her intentions were interrupted by the Scot, standing together with Demelza not far from the old oak tree. He was her salvation in this difficult moment. One look from him was enough to give her strength.

The ceremony, though it seemed long, flashed by in time, stopping at a question addressed to those gathered. "Does anyone want to say anything?" - rumbled in her head. A growing hesitation, uncertainty, and fear. Maybe she shouldn't, but after all, she wanted to. She had to.

"I'd like to say a few words," she announced in a loud, confident tone.

The crowd murmured, Connor looked at her in horror. Faridah shook her head, escaping with her gaze to the side. Sarif, on the other hand, remained unmoved, as if Adam was just one of his pawns to be replaced. Laura stepped forward and stood next to the pit where the coffin rested. It was cherry-coloured and had an ornate plaque with name, surname and dates. Adam Jensen - the inscription proclaimed. She still couldn't believe it. It still didn't occur to her that she had lost him as well. A rotten world, full of insincerity and evil. Unfortunately, this is not a movie. Here there are no superheroes with immense powers. There are only ordinary people, mostly indifferent to what is happening around them. Reconciled to everything that follows.

"I know most of you are outraged by my appearance, however, I think Adam would not like to see us depressed. Especially if it is forced by the situation. That's why I'm sincere and will say goodbye to him dressed in a blue coat, dress and wide-brimmed derby hat. I will say goodbye to him as he deserves, and in my memory, he will shine like gold, forever. I will smile and rejoice because he probably travelled to a better world. Free of lies and conspiracies. This is not goodbye, but only a fond farewell, because one day maybe we will meet again and you will greet me with that husky voice of yours saying "Good morning". I will miss you, though I hope you are happy."

The crowd murmured even more like a swarm of agitated bees. Laura walked closer and threw a bouquet of forget-me-nots on the lid of the coffin.

"I will never forget you, grumpy Cerberus," she whispered.

As she turned back to Connor, she could have sworn that Sarif's lips twitched in a smile of recognition or disdain. Faridah wanted to say something but only opened her mouth. Laura looked back toward Rupert, who silently clapped his hands, letting her know her actions were right. Soon the ceremony was over and the crowd slowly dwindled, walking through narrow gates. Malik still couldn't believe Adam was gone, although she was more surprised that Laura didn't shed a single tear unlike her. After all, they were already so close and she cared so much about him. What had happened beyond her knowledge? And why is Laura moving with such difficulty?

"Are we going home?" asked Dale, again shielding her with an umbrella. "I'd like to talk to Rupert for a while, and then visit one more place.

Connor guessed who the orchid was for and fear gripped him again. He followed the woman with his eyes until Faridah interrupted him.

"I can come at five o'clock today if you don't mind," she said in a cool tone. "Of course, you're welcome," he replied politely, though he knew it would be a difficult conversation.

"It's good to see you, my dear, despite the circumstances," Demelza greeted her with usual kindness, then wiped her eyes with a checkered handkerchief. "It’s good to see you too. Your presence has helped me a lot," she said looking at them.

Only now did grief overwhelm her and Laura realized that she simply was stressed. She felt the chill of the wind blowing and the cold snowflakes hitting against her cheeks. Rupert, seeing the state she was in, came over and shielded her with an umbrella.

"Thank you," she said quietly. "You're welcome. You were very brave today. I may question your choice of outfit, but you were able to push the boundaries. You will be remembered, that's for sure. Maybe even appreciated." "I don't care about recognition. I did it for myself, that's what my conscience and gut dictated. Adam was very principled, however, I know he wouldn't want me to worry. Besides, I often went against his principles."

Rupert smiled slightly, suppressing laughter due to the seriousness of the situation and respect for the place. "It's true, he was the complete opposite of you, and yet you understood each other perfectly," he admitted, nodding at the same time.

Laura wanted to say something more but was interrupted by Connor as if he didn't want her to talk to Rupert.

"Forgive me for interrupting, but we should get back," he suggested. "You can go back on your own, I'll stay here some more," she replied.

Dale didn't want to argue, not here. He didn't want to be overprotective either, but the woman needed to rest in a warm bed, besides, they were going to visit one more place and Faridah will visit them later.

"Faridah will visit us today."

These words electrified Laura, causing her to anxiously shift from one foot to the other. She had not expected this confrontation, not today. There seemed to be nothing left of the old friendship, only regret and hostility.

"You know you can visit us anytime you want," the psychologist reminded her. "Now I certainly know," she replied jokingly. "See you around. Stay safe." "See you, my dear. We'll be waiting," Demelza replied.

Detroit.

Connor knew which place Laura wanted to visit so he just drove while she silently held an orchid in her hands. The Aston Martin gently turned right and fit into the gap between the two cars. The woman got out on her own and disappeared into the alley after a while. He didn't even ask if he could accompany her. Maybe he should go there? What if someone is there? If she is in danger again? Doubts rolled around in his head creating surreal images. Still, he restrained his imagination before the creations escalated into something even more preposterous. He turned on the radio and immediately cursed quietly under his breath. Today he certainly has bad luck with his song selection.

Birds are born with no shackles Then what fetters my fate? Blown away, the white petals Leave me trapped in the cage

The endless isolation Can wear down my illusion Someday, I'll make a dream unchained

Laura looked around the yard. She had the impression that time had stood still here. The old, dirty mattresses, from which springs were sticking out, still remembered the events of that evening. The broken glass had not been cleaned up by anyone. The lamp post invariably looked on from above with the eye of a bulb hidden behind half-shattered plastic. Even the outlines of the bodies that the police had marked with white paint were still visible on the dark, cracked concrete. Everything was the same, except for the framed picture lying on the ground. The woman crouched down to take a closer look at it. It depicted a black silhouette trapped in a reddish-black lump resembling solidified lava. The figure had broken purple wings from which red liquid, probably blood, was dripping.

Laura's first instinct was to run away, she was overwhelmed with horror that once again Kratos was trying to dominate her life. She wanted to be as far away from this place as possible, to hide somewhere where he wouldn't find her. She was beginning to descend into madness again, and the madness consuming her was nothing but another victory for the enemy. Enough! - she shouted in her mind. So many times she had promised herself she would take up this fight, and each time she lost. Adam's life, Joe's life, how much more must happen for her to finally be hungry for vengeance? She hid the picture in her handbag and looked around the square once more, searching for something that could be a vase. She found a paint can, which she weighted down with a few stones and put the flower in it then went back to where Joe had died and placed an orchid on the ground.

"I will not run away again, Joe. Your wings will now be mine, I will fulfil my dream of freedom. I know I keep saying this, but I promise you that Kratos will pay for everything. Every our scar will be his scar. Finally, you will be able to be proud of me. You will always have a place in my heart, I will always remember your every smile, every bad day, our arguments and what separated us. Something that was supposed to be ours and never became real because of Kratos. I will always love you, Navras."

Let my heart bravely spread the wings Soaring past the night, to trace the primal light Let the clouds heal me of the stains Gently wipe the sorrow of my life I dream

The wind swept across the yard, hitting Laura with a piercing cold and almost snatching the hat from her head. She gripped it tightly with both hands, waiting for the wind to stop. She heard the sound of breaking glass and ringing metal. Her gaze momentarily went in the direction from which it came, but she saw no one. It was certainly the wind, so she ignored the incident, focusing her gaze on the orchid for a moment longer. Parting was something she couldn't handle at all, so she stood despite the biting cold and snow. The woman closed her eyes, and after a moment the feeling that she was not alone here overwhelmed her. She felt warmth as if someone was embracing her, and a warm breath right next to her ear made her tremble. She let the feeling carry her away. If only for a moment.

"I know you'd like to stay here a lot longer, but we should get back. It's getting colder," Connor's quiet voice made her jump slightly in place. "You scared me," she said a little angry that he had interrupted such an important moment for her by invading her private space. Nevertheless, he was right, the weather was getting worse, she was not feeling well, and the edge of her coat was gradually soaking up with water. Besides, Faridah was about to visit them. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to disturb you, but I had to," he tried to explain with a partial lie. Yes, they should be home by now however he was actually worried about whether someone had attacked her. "Give me a moment more, I'll be right there," she asked, though it was the kind of tone that doesn't like refusal. "Okay, but not too long," he muttered and reluctantly returned to the car.

Left alone again, Laura took the picture out of her handbag and took another look at it. She wondered who could have left it there. Was it really Damien, who had smashed glass while watching her, and tripped over a garbage trash can while running away? Her head spun but she managed to catch her balance and immediately moved toward the main street.

"Goodbye," she said, stopping for a moment and looking back.

What is meant by miraclе? A word outside my days Once again, with the bubblеs But how could I escape?

No further hesitation On those unanswered questions So now, I'll make a dream unchained

Connor breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of her, but the expression on his face clouded slightly when he saw with what difficulty Laura was moving. He momentarily got out of the Aston Martin, helped her reach the car and take her place in the passenger seat. The woman was remarkably calm, even cheerful as if she got rid of the burden she had been carrying all along.

"Let's go home," she said quietly fastening her seat belt.

Dale merely nodded and started the engine.

All  chapters can be found: [AO3], [dA], [Wattpad]and[Tumblr

[silver-wields-a-pen]

Illthdar High: An au fan fiction

Thursday

Raemina’s mind was reeling since yesterday’s encounter with Rhovan at the mall. Her friends were similarly flustered and preoccupied by their own love lives. Nyima because she and Jingyi finally set up a time to play video games together, and Vyxen because of Date’s forward invitation to the dance, which Nyima and Raemina, along with Vyxen’s brother Salem, all witnessed.

Their excitement led to an eventful shopping trip for the trio. They spent much of the rest of their afternoon laughing and daring each other to try on dresses they knew they’d never wear. In the end, Raemina settled on a smart plaid dress with a cute frilled skirt. Vyxen, no doubt still thinking about a certain singer, found a lacy, black dress with a bit of sheer in the neckline that contrasted beautifully with her pale complexion. But the most surprising pick of the day went to Nyima. Normally content to wear beiges and neutral tones, she ended up choosing a fun and flirty yellow dress with a subtle floral print, though she assured her friends she’d still be wearing her signature cardigan and tights with it because there was no way she’d risk getting sick just before midterms. 

Speak of the devils, Rae thought, smiling when she caught up with her friends in the hallway. “Hey guys! How was math?” It was one of the few subjects the three girls didn’t have together. As future valedictorian, Raemina took advanced subjects when they were still in middle school.

“It was all right,” Vyxen answered for the both of them.

“Are you looking forward to P.E.?” she teased, laughing when the other two turned bright red, no doubt thinking about two specific boys in basketball shorts. Somehow all three of the girls were in gym class with their crushes, and while it might not have been Rae’s favorite subject, it was always a good opportunity to gossip about boys

“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Nyima managed.

As they continued down the corridor, Raemina felt a little light headed, but chalked it up to her excitement over getting to see Rhovan again. Maybe today would be the day she’d gather enough courage to ask him to the dance. Just as they pushed open the side doors that led out of the main building and towards the gym, Rae felt her legs get heavy with lead and her fingers tingled. Oh no, oh no. She started frantically searching her bag for snacks. She usually kept a chocolate and nut trail mix in her bag for times like these, but she had been so preoccupied on her way to school today she hadn’t packed them.

Vyxen and Nyima stopped beside her.

“What’s wrong?”

Rae heard the panic in Nyima’s voice, even though the sound travelled to her muffled, as if she were listening to them from below water. She looked up and black spots danced in her periphery. “I just need to sit,” she replied. Or at least she meant to. Her mouth parted slightly, but no words came out. The numbing sensation that had begun in her hands had now snaked its way up the rest of her body. And then everything went black.

~*~*~

“All right, hurry up,” Coach Phanuel boomed from the court as the stragglers made their way out of the locker rooms. 

Jingyi only moderately picked up his pace as he went to join the rest of the class on the bleachers. He always dreaded this period. P.E. was a nightmare scenario for a scrawny asthmatic like himself. Running, jumping, climbing, hitting things…nothing about it appealed. It also hurt that Nyima was in the class. Nothing made his confidence plummet like looking weak and pathetic in front of the girl he liked.

“So, athletes,” Coach continued once everyone had taken a seat. He never referred to them as students, always athletes, as if he thought by calling them so it would somehow be true. “Since this week will already be stressful enough with homecoming coming up, I’ve decided to let all you blow off some��steam.”

Jingyi nearly groaned. Whatever he was planning wouldn’t be good.

“Dodgeball,” Coach Phanuel finished with a grin. “Miu, Lerki, you two are team captains.”

“YES!” Miu punched the air and hopped to her feet while Lerki followed, less ecstatic, but with some glimmer of amusement in his eye that promised nothing good for anyone.

Jingyi felt his stomach drop, it didn’t matter what team they put him on this would still be a nightmare. Miu would doubtlessly be preferable, but that would mean he’d be against the quarterback of the football team. If Lerki picked him—unlikely—then he’d have to worry about getting pushed around by his teammates and getting smacked by a bunch of not-so-soft softballs. There was no winning in this unless he stabbed himself and got excused.

Rhovan had no feelings about dodgeball, he was only hoping that Rhoe got put on the opposite team so he could hit her in the face and get away with it. He tied his long blue hair up into a bun at the base of his skull and spied Vyxen and Nyima scurry towards Mr. Phanuel. Their teacher pulled the most exasperated face at the sight of them and waved them both towards the bleachers without even bothering to speak to them. They did this every class. Nyima had some kind of doctor’s note that got her out of contact sports and Vyxen was, apparently, allergic to whatever they made dodgeballs with. Also: nets, baseballs, soccer balls, footballs, tennis balls and probably oxygen. Needless to say, they were Coach Phanuel’s least favorite ‘athletes’.

To the side of him, Miu and Lerki’s voices rang out as they picked their teams. Lerki picked Seth first, Miu grabbed Anna, and they carried on with each of them fighting to get the best players. Rhovan didn’t expect to get picked until near the end. He was decent in gym, but he’d never been very interested in sports.

“This will be so stupid,” Date’s voice bemoaned beside him, no more a sports fan than Rhovan was.

“Tell coach you’re allergic to paying attention and maybe you can go sit with your girlfriend,” Rhovan suggested and snickered when Date appeared to be considering it. He knew that Date and Vyxen were going to the dance together because it pissed Salem off. He’d had to listen to the two bicker all morning like a married couple. He hadn’t paid too much attention to it though. It was usual for those two to go back and forth, but his thoughts stuck on Raemina and whether he’d talk to her today.

“Band boys, you’re with me,” Miu yelled out to them, gesturing both Date and Rhovan over. Left were a few stragglers, begrudgingly called to join, and the two teams took their places on the floor.

Rhovan was on a team with Date, the quiet asthmatic boy, a bunch of girls he didn’t know and a single football player. Lerki’s team had several football players, and some random nameless background characters. Despite Miu’s pep talk about how they could win with a strategy, it was clear he was on the losing side. The only upside to the situation was that Rhoe was on the opposing team and he made sure to take a position right in front of her.

“Is that supposed to be intimidating?” Rhoe asked, both amused that the little drummer boy thought he could beat her and still angry from dealing with him yesterday afternoon. She hated sports but if there was one skill she did have, it was killer aim. “I’m gonna break your face, pretty boy.”

“Try it,” Rhovan challenged as they both parted to walk to the opposite side of the gym, waiting for the whistle to sound so they could run forward and grab a ball.

As it turned out, challenging a girl known for throwing rocks through windows was a bad idea. Not even three minutes in, Rhoe nailed him in the face with a ball, sending him staggering backwards and onto the gym floor.

~*~*~

I guess this is what I get for getting involved with a guy who’s obsessed with vampires, Imogen thought sourly as she adjusted the collar of her shirt for the fifteenth time that period. As hard as she tried yesterday to cover up the hickey Salem left with foundation, her neckline hadn’t done her any favors. Of course Zercey had noticed immediately when Imogen finally emerged from the bathroom. Her friend’s eyes went right to the glaring mark on her neck, but thankfully she didn’t do more than raise her eyebrows in question. Imogen counted herself lucky that Scyanatha and Seth left the group while she was still tied up with Salem. Zercey, being the loyal friend she was, hadn’t mentioned anything or made a scene in front of Lerki and Laura when they all shared a ride home. Imogen would be dead if either of them knew the whole truth. Socially, at least.

She sagged with relief when she saw that today’s weather would be chilly and gratefully put on a collared shirt and sweater that hid what the makeup could not. She’d made it through her first two classes just fine, but now she was on a field trip for her science class with Salem and acutely knew how much space there was between them.

As if he were reading her thoughts, he looked up from where he was standing a few feet away. His eyes went first to her neck where he had branded her and then up to meet her own. She felt her face get warm and quickly looked away. “Hey, can we meet at your place after school? I have an idea I’d like to run by you,” Salem asked, turning to Xyl. “It’s not safe to talk about it here.” He didn’t elaborate, and it reminded him why he had the very best friends in the world when Xyl just shrugged and agreed.

Date had been similarly nonchalant about it and he hadn’t asked Rhovan yet, but he’d get to that at lunch. Scyanatha and Seth snapped his very last nerve, and he wouldn’t let it go. It was about time those two got a taste of their own medicine and he would ensure that it happened. Unfortunately, this was hardly a one-man job and if he would pull it off, he would need backup. His grey eyes drifted back to Imogen again, wondering if she’d help him. It could go either way with her. He didn’t believe for a second she was so oblivious as to not realize what Seth and Scy were like, but she also cared entirely too much about her social standing. Maybe he’d ask her later, after she finished yelling at him for that hickey. “Do you think you can get Rhoe and her friend to come too?” Salem added suddenly, thinking it might be good to have some pro-delinquents on the team. He was sure they didn’t care about helping anyone but themselves, but they might be interested enough in causing some havoc to be useful anyway.

Xyl hadn't expected that. He blinked stupidly at his friend. “What? Why?” He didn’t care what Salem wanted to talk about, he figured it was some supervision plan to keep Date from being alone with Vyxen at the dance. That theory went out the window if he wanted to talk to Rhoe and Cowan. Those two weren’t nice, even if one of them looked really nice, and if they were involved then something potentially criminal was happening. “Should I be concerned about this meeting?”

“Probably,” Salem answered with a grin, “but if all goes well, it’ll be worth it.”

~*~*~

Raemina woke up flat on her back and with a throbbing headache. The crinkling sound of paper when she shifted told her she was in the nurse’s office. A quick look around proved that theory correct. She barely got to sit up before both the school nurse and principal Chiyoko were on her, asking her if she was ok and shoving a box of dried fruit in her hand to eat while she waited for her mother to rush over some iron pills. They knew she was anemic, but since she was usually careful about what she ate it wasn't a big deal. She gingerly sat up, her head spinning slightly with the move and opened the box of fruit. One bite of some dark colored lump that tasted like sweat and regret had her immediately spitting it back out and setting the box to the side, she would wait for her mom to bring the pills. She'd also bring a lecture and Rae knew she deserved it. This was her own fault, she’d been so giddy from talking to Rhovan and going dress shopping that she’d forgotten to eat when she’d got home and then had rushed out the door this morning with only a poptart for breakfast. She hoped Vyxen and Nyima weren’t too worried about her, the poor things. If her mother hurried, she could be back in time for History class to let them know she was ok before they both spiralled further into anxiety.

A hollow clicking sound alerted her to the door opening and she looked up, expecting to see her mother only to find Rhovan standing there with blood dripping down half of his face.

“Oh my gosh, are you ok?” She jumped off the bed in an attempt to help but needing to immediately sit back down when a powerful wave of dizziness hit her.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Rhovan had been hurt worse in his time and the ache of his nose was nothing compared to the blow his ego took. Rhoe hit him hard and although his nose wasn’t broken, it was going to end up bruised. So much for looking cool on stage tomorrow. “Are you ok?” He took a seat on the bed beside her and looked her over. She was pale and shaky and looked more worse for wear than he did.

“Yeah, I just had a small fainting spell. I should be fine once my mom gets here,” Rae explained, picking up the nearby box of tissue and handing it over so Rhovan could stem the tide of blood coming from his nose. The situation wasn’t ideal, but at least she still got to see him in his gym shorts. He had really nice legs.

Further conversation paused as the nurse bustled over, making a cross noise at the state of Rhovan’s face, helping to clean him up a bit. The blood would eventually stop and apart from the nasty bruising around the area and under his left eye, he’d be just fine to return to class. The nurse left to fish him a new shirt out of the lost and found, letting the two teens have a short moment by themselves.

“You usually walk home, right?” Rhovan asked, trying to make it sound casual and not like he’d been watching her like a creep. This whole scenario kind of sucked, but he liked to think of himself as an opportunist and this was probably the only time he’d get her alone until school let out. He shouldn’t waste it. “Not to sound creepy or anything, I see you walking sometimes on my way out. I wouldn’t feel right letting you walk home after you fainted, I could give you a ride if you want?”

Rae was surprised he noticed, but she smiled thinking along the same lines he was. This would give her the perfect chance to ask him to the dance! “That sounds great, thank you!”

“All right, cool.” Rhovan gave her a smile, but since his face was still sore from where he’d been hit, it quickly turned into a grimace. 

The nurse walked back in with a fresh shirt and handed it to him. “Go ahead and change in the toilet there,” she instructed, pointing to the bathroom door, “and then you can get back to class.”

He did as he was told and five minutes later, he was back in the gym holding an icepack to his face. It might not have been ideal, but he was finally going to hang out alone with Rae. He closed his eyes and leaned back on the bleachers, visions of lace panties dancing in his head.

~*~*~

The school lunch room was a beige monstrosity with the worst layout Date ever saw. Trying to maneuver his way through tables, legs, elbows and butts while holding a lunch tray should count as military training. He paused briefly to lean down and press his lips against Vyxen’s cheek. “You look nice today,” he whispered against the shell of her ear. As he moved on to sit beside his bandmates he noticed she'd gone beet red.

Salem scowled at him, but he hardly cared. “Did you guys finally figure out the set list for tomorrow?”

“Yes.” Rhovan, slightly bruised but no worse for the wear after gym class, answered for the group and handed Date a piece of paper with the two songs they would perform tomorrow during the talent show. They wouldn’t have been Date’s first choice, but they would work.

“I need you to come over to Xyl’s house with me after school,” Salem informed him and he just nodded. It was probably to talk about some harebrained, ridiculous, scheme to take on their royal majesties and while he didn’t think it would end well, it could still be amusing. Or maybe it wouldn’t be, since Rhoe and her friend arrived a minute later and if they were involved then this could very well end them all in prison.

“How does your nose feel, pretty boy?” Rhoe asked as she elbowed Rhovan to make room for her on the bench. He didn’t move.

“What do you want?” he growled back.

Cowan smirked.

Salem rolled his eyes and moved over himself so Rhoe and Cowan could sit beside him instead, knowing that Rhovan was too stubborn to do it himself. “Can you not act like a bunch of tools?”

“What are they doing here?” Rhovan would sooner poison himself then put up with this girl and her boyfriend for a second longer than necessary. The fact they even allowed her to sit with them was pissing him off.

“We’re meeting at Rhoe and Xyl’s house after school,” Salem explained. “We need them. So play nice.” He fixed his drummer with a pointed look that suggested every piece of blackmail he had on him would be made public if he didn’t cool down.

Rhovan wasn’t having it. “I got permission from Culvers to do the project on my own. Enjoy your failing grade.”

“If you keep saying such sweet things people might get the wrong idea,” Rhoe retorted. One of her favorite pastimes was seeing how far she could push someone, and Rhovan was an easy target. If she had known this before she would have tortured him sooner. 

Cowan set a hand on her shoulder, silently communicating that she should lay off. “Come on, Rhoe,” he said, deciding it was better to leave now before someone threw punches, “If we want to get a smoke in before class, we’d better go.” Turning to the band, he added, “We’ll see you after school.”

Xyl watched his sister and his crush walk away with an increasing sense of dread.

~*~*~

“Admit it, we slaughtered you, Miu,” Lerki joked, good-naturedly elbowing her in the ribs as they and Seth made their way from gym class to the cafeteria together.

“Yeah, yeah,” she said. “Just wait ‘till we scrimmage next season. My girls are gonna wipe the floor with your boys.” She gave him a punch on the arm and left the two men to join the rest of her team for lunch while Lerki and Seth sat down next to Zercey and Scyanatha. 

“Aw man, Kallder, you should’ve seen it,” Lerki said excitedly once he took his seat. Imogen knew his use of her last name was an indicator he was still talking about sports things, and she fought back a groan; athletics were so boring. “Your sister was on our team for dodgeball. She may be a freak, but that girl has a wicked arm on her. She pelted that blue-haired dork so hard I thought he’d cry.” Seth laughed beside him, content to keep rehashing the day’s victory with his friend until Scyanatha let out an impatient whine. Quickly correcting his mistake, Seth engaged his girlfriend in a seemingly intense game of tonsil hockey.

For once, the couple’s PDA relieved Zercey. All she’d heard all day was Scyanatha going on and on about the dance and how her and Seth would make the perfect Homecoming King and Queen. It was starting to make her crazy. She already had plenty on her plate with cheer practice and she didn’t want to hear any more of Scy’s so called ‘problems.’

“So,” she said, taking the opportunity to switch the subject, “Imo, you’re still staying late to plan the dance, right? Did you need a ride home?”

“Uh, yeah, that’d be great,” she answered. Zercey was clearly mad at Lerki for something, she barely even glanced his way when he sat down.

“Wait a minute, sweetness, I thought you and I would be riding home together.” Lerki, finally coming out of his victory high, tried to reach across the table to take her hand but Zercey snatched it away before he could. He rolled his eyes. “What did I do now?”

“You didn’t do anything,” Zercey commented, shooting a glare in his direction that suggested otherwise.

Lerki huffed dramatically and threw his hands in the air, annoyed that he’d pissed her off again and thinking she might not be worth the effort. The head cheerleader was almost as high maintenance as Scyanatha.

“Good, I wanted to talk to you, anyway.” Zercey ignored him and returned to her conversation with Imogen, her eyes glancing to the girls covered neck. There was an interesting story behind that hickey and was determined to find out what.

Imogen just sighed and silently reminded herself to murder Salem the next time she saw him.

The rest of their lunch break progressed in much the same way until they all parted to go to class. Scy hooked her arm through Seth’s, allowing him to lead her through the halls while she lost herself in thought.

“What did your parents have to say?” Seth asked, finally broaching the topic that had been bothering him since last night. She never did text him and they hadn’t gotten a moment to themselves until now.

“The usual,” Scyanatha replied flippantly. “I’m a shame to the family, I’m slutty, why can’t I be more like Oidhan, the same spiel as always.”

Seth pulled his arm out of her grip and wrapped it around her shoulder pulling her close and pressing a kiss to her temple. “One more year, baby,” he promised softly. “That’s all we have left before we’re eighteen and you can come live with me and never have to see those jackasses again.”

Scyanatha smiled, resting her head in the crook of his neck and letting the scent of his cologne calm her. One more year and then I’ll be free.

~*~*~

The end of the school day couldn’t come quick enough. Xyl had been thinking over everything Salem said and it wasn’t putting him at ease. They should worry about getting in a final band practice before tomorrow and instead they were all going to this ‘meeting’ as if it was some undercover SWAT operation. Luckily his aunt wasn’t home, and neither was Imogen, so he didn’t have to worry about that. Mostly, he tried to gather up snacks and drinks to lie out, hoping to keep everyone’s hands busy so no one killed each other. Everyone was here except Rhovan and while he didn’t think Date or Salem would try to murder his sister, it was still a good idea to take precautions. Besides, keeping busy helped him keep his eyes off of Cowan. Rhoe may not be perceptive enough to notice his not-so-subtle ogling, but Salem would and he didn’t really want anyone to know about his crush yet.

“So, what do you geeks want?” Rhoe broke the awkward silence first, grabbing a fistful of chips and then flopping back on the couch to eye Salem and Date with obvious boredom, matched by the equally bored look Date gave back.

“We’re going to take Seth and Scyanatha, and possibly all their friends, down a few notches.” Salem informed them all bluntly, not bothering to beat around the bush. If he tried to ease them into it, Rhoe and Date would for sure lose interest and zone out.

Xyl almost choked on his drink, eyes widening comically in disbelief. “You can’t be serious.” He was hoping Salem wasn’t serious. “Doesn’t Seth’s family own like… this whole city. We’d never get away with it.”

Neither Date nor Rhoe looked bored anymore.

“We can get away with it if we do it right,” Salem argued, “if everything goes according to plan then no one will even find out we’re responsible. What is Seth gonna do? Sue the whole student body?”

Xyl firmly believed that Seth would sue the whole student body, just to prove he could, and he was about to tell Salem that, but got cut off.

“Look, those two have been acting like gods sent to earth since middle school and I’m done with it. They torment everyone just to amuse themselves and I’m going to get revenge with or without your help.”

“I’m in!” Rhoe hadn’t expected much from this little get together but she guessed she misjudged them. There was clearly more to them than eyeliner and body glitter. Not much more, but more than she anticipated. She’d been thinking about taking Scy and Seth on for a while anyway and at least this way she had other people to blame if things went south. “What’s the plan?”

Her answer was total silence and she rolled her eyes, casting a ‘can you believe this?’ look towards Cowan. “Are you telling me you don’t have a plan?”

“I didn’t decide to do this until last night, so no, I don’t,” Salem defended. “That’s why I invited you two here.”

“I’m touched that you think so highly of us,” Cowan commented with a grin, deeply amused by the situation.

“When were you planning on carrying out this little coup?” Rhoe snapped her fingers as if she just remembered something. “Oh wait, I forgot that you don’t have a plan.”

“We should do it at the dance,” Date intervened before Salem could dig himself too deeply into a hole. “Everyone will be there. It would be hard to pick out who was responsible from a crowd that large.” He paused for a moment, considering their options. “And if we really want to hurt them then public humiliation would be the best route.”

“I’m not dumping a bucket of blood on anyone,” Xyl informed them all, crossing his arms and envisioning a horror scene worthy of the movie he referenced. If anyone would use telekinetic powers to murder someone, it was definitely Scyanatha.

“We won’t go that far, stupid, that could get us in serious trouble.” Rhoe liked trouble but she’d prefer to not end up in cuffs over this. “Lucky for you nimrods, I have an idea. If you really want to get back at the king and queen, this is what we’ll do.”

~*~*~

“You’re way better than I imagined!” Jingyi breathed, impressed by Nyima's skill in Mortal Kombat. He was good, but she was excellent and if he wasn’t already stupidly infatuated with her, he would be now.

Nyima giggled and straightened her back, proud of herself for picking up on the game so quickly and kicking his butt. They had been playing for a little over an hour and she was slowly getting more comfortable with him. She honestly thought she was going to die when she first arrived at his house, and he didn’t look much better. Jingyi was a flustered, stuttering mess. He was beginning to loosen up though and Nyima found that she liked how he looked when he wasn’t working hard to be invisible. “You’re not letting me win, are you?”

“I promise I’m not,” Jingyi assured with a laugh and Nyima tried to pretend like it didn’t make her heart flutter to hear it. “I was trying pretty hard to win so I could impress you, but you walloped me cleanly.”

“You were a decent opponent.” Nyima gave credit where it was due, he’d almost beaten her a few times. “Next time, you should come to my house and we can try you out on Final Fantasy!” The words didn’t register in her head until a minute after she’d said them and her whole body froze up. Oh my giddy aunt, did I just invite him on a date?

“I’d love too.” He could see her nerves started to rear up again. It fed into his own and he knew that if he didn’t fix things quick then the fragile comfort they built up would shatter around him. “Can I walk you home? We could get ice cream on the way; my treat?”

Outside and back on neutral ground, the comfort seemed to return and Jingyi steered her towards talking about her beloved Final Fantasy, endeared by how expressive and excited she was as she gave him a full run-down of the storyline and all the characters. It seemed a lot more complicated than most of the games he played and he made a mental note to research it later so he wouldn’t totally suck at it when they got together again. The easy talk about Eidolons and chocobos over chocolate ice cream eventually turned into talk about school, the antics of Nyima’s friends and life in general. Before Jingyi knew it, they were at her front door and he felt the smile fading from his face when he realized that his time with her was up. Now that they were able to talk without choking on their words he felt like he could do it forever. If he could drag the conversation on a little longer without making himself look like an idiot, he would do it in a heartbeat.

“Thanks for walking me home.” Nyima was sad to see him go, but also kind of excited because this afternoon had been the best and she couldn’t wait to tell Vyxen and Raemina about it. “See you tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” Jingyi hesitated for a second, fighting to gather his courage. It must have taken a while because he heard her fish her keys out from her bag, unlock the door and prepare to go inside. She got one step into the house before a burst of blind panic gave him the tiny bit of courage he needed. “Wouldyoulikedanceme?”

Nyima paused, turning back to look at him and cocking her head to the side, not understanding a word he’d just said. “I’m sorry?”

Smooth, Jingyi, very nice, he chastised, taking a deep breath and desperately holding onto that tiny spark of courage as he tried again. “Would you like to go to the dance with me?”

The butterflies in Nyima’s stomach came back full force, but even they couldn’t stop the smile taking over her face. She should say no, she’d be a nervous wreck the whole time and she knew it, but much like it had at the game store, her mouth seemed to function independently of her brain. “Yes, I’d like to.”

“Thank god.” Jingyi breathed out, flushing a bright red when he realized he’d said it out loud.

Nyima giggled.

“I mean, cool. Cool… I’ll see you tomorrow then?” He didn’t wait for an answer before speed walking away.

Nyima felt both nauseous and giddy. Her brain was running at a mile a minute and she had no idea what to do about anything and so she did the only thing she could do. She raced up to her bedroom, dropped her bag onto her pawprint comforter, dialed Vyxen’s number and screamed directly into the phone.

~*~*~

“He didn’t ask me to the dance!” Zercey had all but screamed once the final pep rally practice was over, throwing her bag into the back seat of her cherry red sports car and slamming the driver’s side door shut.

Imogen tried not to sigh too loudly as she slid into the passenger’s seat.

“He expects that we’ll go together,” Zercey continued. “I mean, we are going together, but he could have asked! It wouldn’t kill him to be romantic!” Lerki had never, not once in their entire relationship, done something nice for her just because he wanted to. He only ever did nice things when she was mad and then he had the gall to wonder why she was always mad. “Sometimes I feel like he’s only interested in my body,” she confessed as she started the car. “Seth and Scy have been together for years and he still asked her to the dance, and he did it with a dozen long-stemmed roses and a diamond pendant!”

“What do you think of Seth and Scy?” Imogen cut in, having been pondering that same question for a while now herself.

“I think they’re both awful human beings who don’t care about anyone or anything beyond each other.” Zercey didn’t even hesitate before giving her answer and it took Imogen by surprise. “They’re terrible, but Seth has connections I need if I want to get through college without having to work too hard. Once I’m through with that, his connections will help me get a good job and I’ll move across the country and never speak to either of them again.”

“You’re using them,” Imogen concluded, unsure on how she felt about it.

Zercey stopped at a red light and shot her an annoyed look. “Of course I’m using them. I’m sorry, Imo, are you hanging out with those two for their stellar personalities?” When she didn’t respond, Zercey nodded as if it proved her point. “We’re both using them for their connections and Seth’s money and they’re using us to boost their social status and make themselves look good. Everyone wins, except us because we still have to deal with them.”

Imogen had never thought about things that way before and she didn’t like the way it made her feel, like she’d just swallowed something slimy.

Luckily, Zercey was quick to change the subject. “So how did you get the hickey you’ve been trying to hide all day?”

“I would rather die than tell you,” Imogen informed her honestly, feeling like there wasn’t a need to lie but also not willing to talk about Salem yet. She felt conflicted about everything right now and she didn’t know if she had a single real friend she could count on.

Apparently she did though, since Zercey just shrugged in response to her statement. “Ok, but I’m here for you if you need to talk.”

The rest of the ride passed in silence with Zercey still stewing over Lerki and Imogen trying to figure out what she was going to do from here on out. She didn’t snap out of it until they reached her house and she saw several cars blocking her driveway, one of which she recognized as Salem’s.

“Your brother’s friends are over?” Zercey asked with a nod towards the cars. She knew for a fact Imogen’s sister didn’t have that many.

“It looks like it,” Imogen said as she hurried out of her seat. “Thanks again for the ride, Zerce. I’ll text you later.” She tried her best to be nonchalant even though seeing Salem’s car had made her heart start to beat faster. 

Zercey narrowed her eyes suspiciously, but said, “All right,” just the same.

On her way into the house, Imogen gave herself a pep talk. Just act normal. She walked into the living room and was surprised to find not only all of Xyl’s band, but Rhoe and her burnout friend Cowan as well. They were all huddled around each other, talking in hushed tones as if they were conspiring, which they definitely were since it seemed like Rhoe was leading the whole thing. 

Seeing her sister walk in, Rhoe sat back. “The golden child returns,” she mocked. At her words, the boys broke off their talking as well and looked to the new arrival.

Imogen glowered from the doorway. “Whatever. Did Nayidh leave anything for dinner?”

“Yeah, leftovers are in the fridge,” answered Xyl from where he sat in the corner.

She left for the kitchen, not bothering to acknowledge any of the other people sitting in her living room. As she waited for the oven to preheat so she could warm up the vegetarian lasagne from the other night, she popped into her room and threw her bag on the bed. A few seconds later she heard a faint knock on her door.

“What?” Imogen figured it was Xyl coming to bother her for who-knows-what and so she didn’t even bother to turn around when she heard her door open.

“I have like one minute before they realize I lied about using the bathroom and come looking for me.” Salem normally would have been excited to be in Imogen’s room, but he knew he was potentially walking towards his death, so he couldn’t enjoy it. If she didn’t kill or break it off with him, maybe he’d get to see it again sometime in the future and he’d be excited then. “I wanted to come say that I’m sorry for yelling at you yesterday.” It would look better for him if he started to grovel immediately. “And for giving you a hickey. I know you’re pissed about it, I kind of got lost in the momen…ooomph!” His apology was cut short by a pillow smacking him directly in the face.

“Don’t give me that bull, you knew what you were doing Salem!” Imogen snapped at him, the scene very similar to the one that played out in the mall bathroom, though this time she wouldn’t let him off easy. “This mark could ruin everything! Zercey saw it and she’s already asking questions. Do you know what will happen if Scy sees it?” She didn’t even know what would happen if Scy saw it but she was sure it wouldn’t be good.

“I’m sorry,” Salem remarked lamely, automatically taking a step back when she stalked towards him. She was shorter than he was but Imogen was scary when she was mad and he didn’t want to get thrown out a window today.  

Her hands fisted in the lapels of his leather jacket and he braced himself for a shove out of her room. It surprised him when he felt her pull instead of push and soon her soft lips were pressing insistently against his own and Salem wondered if Imogen had a thing for kissing guys after she snapped at them.

“Don’t do it again,” Imogen warned when their lip lock broke. “And I expect there to be flowers and chocolates delivered in the immediate future as proof of your remorse.”

~*~*~

Rhovan pulled into the driveway of Xyl’s house with a grin. He didn’t care that the stretching of his lips made his face hurt or that he would have to endure Rhoe’s presence for however long they took to hear Salem out. Everything was well with the world and nothing, absolutely nothing, could bring him off cloud nine. Except taking on Seth and Scyanatha, which apparently was what everyone was planning. “Are you actually stupid?” he asked them incredulously. “Ok, not only are those two not worth this kind of time, but Seth’s dad is a douchebag lawyer who sues everyone who looks at him wrong. There is no way you’ll get away with this.”

“You don’t have to help if you don’t want to,” Salem informed him in a tone that suggested he absolutely had to help and would pay dearly if he didn’t.

Rhoe smirked evilly at him from where she sat across the couch and he started to seriously reconsider his policy on not hitting girls.  He was trapped and he knew it, he couldn’t go against Salem with everything the vampire-wannabe knew about him and since the whole band was in on it, he’d get blamed alongside them even if he had nothing to do with it. “Fine, but if we get in trouble for this, then I’m killing all of you.” He tried to block out most of the plans being made around him. On the off chance they were doing anything crazy, he figured the less he knew, the better. It was a relief when he was finally free to go home, it being too late by then to have band practice. Once in his car and heading far away from everyone, especially Rhoe, he was able to reclaim a little of his earlier good mood.

Driving Rae home had been a blast. He knew she was smart but he didn’t know how funny and sly she could be, she kept up with his snark and made him laugh. He’d always just grouped her in with her friends as some anxiety riddled little girl who was afraid of her own shadow, now he knew better. Raemina was one of a kind and he was entirely captivated by her. They’d both asked each other to the dance at the same time and then burst out laughing. He was surprised that she was willing to take that kind of initiative. Most girls would fling themselves into the sun before they asked a guy out, that Raemina was willing to take the first step just made him like her more. She was full of surprises and he felt like he could be with her forever and never grow bored. Whoa. He stopped that train of thought before it got too far. It was entirely too early to even be thinking about words like ‘forever,’ they weren’t even officially dating yet. If the dance went well, then maybe she’d agree to spend more time with him and they could go from there. She had also told him that she’d definitely make it to the talent show tomorrow night. Hopefully the band wouldn’t embarrass him. Since Khrome had spent the night on Salem’s half-assed revenge idea, they’d be going into the whole thing pretty rusty. It’s simple, Rhovan thought to himself as he turned off the engine and walked into his house, If Salem’s plan ruins my chances with Raemina, I’ll kill him.

By @guardians-of-las-vyxen & @yogiwithabook

[laurawritesandgames]

Vigil

Mistwalk glanced at Rabbitkit, who slept curled up in the straw beside her. She sniffed the cobwebs over his ear. The wound didn’t smell infected, thank StarClan.

“It almost went right up your nose that time,” the brown longhair said kindly. Her fur was the same shade of brown as the barn walls; it looked as if she’d been made from them. “I’ve my eye on him. Try to sleep, if you can.”

“I can’t.” Not with straw poking her, and Rabbitkit to worry about, and Featherfall gone.

“Is it your custom to bury your dead?”

“Isn’t it everyone’s?”

“I’ve heard of cats that set the bodies of their dead adrift in the river. Some cats in the Uprightlands make a ceremony of setting out their dead for the Uprights to dispose of. Some say their goodbyes then leave their dead exposed for weather and crows.”

Remembering the greys, Mistwalk flinched. “How barbaric.” Then she remembered that MountainClan exposed their dead instead of using what little soil they had to bury them. “Nevermind. It doesn’t matter.”

“Would you like help burying your friend?”

“No.” She thought for a moment. “But I’ll need it, probably.”

“Since you can’t sleep, I’m here to listen, if you’ve some words. Silence suits me fine, too.” She sighed, pointing at the rain pouring from a hole in the barn roof near the entrance. “Not that we get as much silence as we used to. The Uprights stopped repairing this place these past three seasons. They must have been preparing to abandon it for a while. I wish you could’ve seen the barn in its glory days.”

“I prefer being in the open. Ah, no offense.”

“None taken. You’re not the first cat to think so.” Her gaze swept the barn. She sounded sad, but Mistwalk could only tell she was by the slight twitch in her ears.

They were silent for a while. The other barn cats milled around. What Mistwalk had thought was a swarm of cats when she first arrived were only five cats and the dog. The brown longhair groomed herself, starting with the straw gathered in her belly fur. Mistwalk wondered why. Her fur was so long, she’d just get straw in it once she walked through the barn again.

After a while, Mistwalk said, “I’m sorry, but I’ve forgotten your name.”

“I’m Sweeps Up.” She pointed out the other cats with her large muzzle and named them. Mouse Face, the beige tabby, was standing guard outside; Two Tone, the black-and-white tom with one green and one yellow eye, was grooming himself and occasionally glancing over at Sweeps Up and Mistwalk; Gina, the orange tabby elder, was batting listlessly at a piece of straw; and Terrier, the collared grey-and-white tom, was sleeping beside Manx, the dog.

“I’m Mistwalk and this is Rabbitkit.” Her tail tightened around him as she added, “He’s a good kit.” He didn’t resemble his father much, but Sweeps Up could probably guess who’d sired him.

“He seems devoted to you.” Sweeps Up gave him an approving nod. Mistwalk relaxed her tail.

“I worried, now and then, that he was bad. He’d bite my tail too hard, sometimes, or use his claws. But kits do that. He learned not to. His—his father….” No. From now on, I won’t ever speak of him again. “Rabbitkit has been through so much. He’s very strong—stronger than his Mama, that’s for sure.

“He’s not my kitted son. He’s Featherfall’s. I see so much of her in him. She...she came here once, in greenleaf. Do you remember her?”

“Yes. A small, slim thing, with wiry muscles that showed she hunted full-time. She didn’t say much.”

Mistwalk mrrowed. When Rabbitkit stirred in his sleep, she realized how loud she’d been. “She never did.

“We were the only ones of our litters to survive kithood, so in the nursery, we were inseparable. But we were born two moons apart, so she became an apprentice before me. Every day, I begged her to tell me about life outside camp. She tried, but it was like chewing on a rock! She’d say something like, ‘We practiced our scenting, Mistkit.’ Well, where did you go? What did you scent? Were the scents fresh or old? You can imagine how much of a nuisance I was.

“And yet, every day for two moons, this cat who hated talking answered endless questions from her old nursery-playmate. She was tired from the hunt, usually. Sometimes she was covered in mud up to her belly. But every time I’d burst out of the nursery squealing ‘What happened? What happened?’, she was there. That’s how kind she was.”  

“She looked out for you from the beginning.”

“Until she died.” Mistwalk closed her eyes. The scream echoing deep in her bones. “I was so in love with her. Love would fill me up from ear-tip to tail-tip, sometimes. She was so beautiful, and kind, and humble.... Since I was a medicine cat apprentice, I admired her from afar.” When Sweeps Up looked confused, Mistwalk said, “I wasn’t allowed to take a mate until I had a trained apprentice of my own. Someone would take her as a mate by the time I could. Oh...wait, you don’t even know what a medicine cat is. Sorry! My mind is everywhere at once.”

“No apologies needed, dear. I can follow along. Mouse Face was also quite taken with Featherfall. He groomed himself from muzzle to tail every morning for moons in case she stopped by again.”

“She had that effect on cats.” Even the Ruler. He always raped her first, more often, longer. Her skin crawled. She hated what he’d put into her head. Her brain was filled with his filth.

“Here, may I?” Sweeps Up slowly began to lie down beside her giving Mistwalk time to interrupt. Mistwalk realized her fur had rose and she was shaking. Thoughts of the Ruler ignored her mind and went straight to her body.

“You may.”

So Sweeps Up lay beside her, curling her tail over Mistwalk’s. The solid presence of such a large cat beside her felt odd. She wanted Featherfall beside her, sleek and shorthaired. But, eventually, her fur flattened and her shaking stopped.

“If I’d been fighting beside Featherfall, I would have watched him die.” A twinge of guilt made her glance at Rabbitkit. He was still sleeping. “I’d have liked that. I shouldn’t, but….”

“I know how you feel,” Sweeps Up murmured, gaze falling to her paws. She’d lost someone, too.

Mistwalk was about to ask whom when Mouse Face shouted an alarmed “Sweeps Up!”

Everyone moved. Rabbitkit startled awake, and Mistwalk moved to stand over him. Terrier and Manx got to their paws, Terrier baring his fangs and making for the door. Gina trotted to the back of the barn, ears down; Two Tone stood and looked to Sweeps Up, who rose.

“If he thought there was danger, he would’ve called for Terrier,” Sweeps Up reminded everyone. Though her tone was reassuring, Mistwalk was close enough to see her tail swish back and forth uneasily.

Sweeps Up calmly walked to the barn entrance. The barn cats watched her. Gina’s ears rose and Two Tone calmed enough to sit. Only Terrier was unaffected; he paced, fangs bared.

As Sweeps Up left the barn and dealt with whatever was happening outside, Rabbitkit whispered, “Maybe It is looking for us. No one would think that mouse-heart was a threat.” He hissed. “Oh, I hope he’s out there. I’ve got some things to say to that asshole….”

She could hear his father so clearly she started shivering again. “Hush!”

“Sorry, Mama,” he said quickly. But his tail lashed hard enough to hit her hindlegs.

Heartbeats passed and no one returned to the barn. “It lived his whole life with the Ruler’s cruelty,” Mistwalk reminded her son. “He’s as much a victim as we were.”

“No, he’s not!” Rabbitkit said with a growl. “If you knew—” He stopped himself.

“If I knew what?” she asked, then regretted it. She didn’t have the energy right now to deal with what was probably some kithood scuffle that Rabbitkit’s pride had blown out of proportion.

“Nothing,” he muttered.

I’ll bring it up later, Mistwalk decided.

Featherfall walked into the barn dripping rain.

The world shifted beneath Mistwalk’s paws. She couldn’t think. She just stared as Featherfall shook herself, sending water flying and began flicking water from each paw individually. Featherfall met her gaze then Rabbitkit’s, nodding to both of them awkwardly, as if she’d been caught doing something inappropriate.

“Mama, do you see this?” Rabbitkit said breathlessly.

Stepping closer, Mistwalk said, “Featherfall?”

“It’s me,” she replied, ears flicking uneasily. An ugly bite scar interrupted the white fur of her throat. Earlier that evening, that wound had been spilling her life’s blood.

Last greenleaf, she and Featherfall had killed Whisperstar four times before she had finally died. Each time, she’d risen, maddened with the foaming sickness, the worst of her wounds scarred as if they’d been healed for seasons.

Scarred like Featherfall’s throat.

“Oh,” Mistwalk murmured. She should be feeling joy, but she just felt numb. StarClan promised me with the lightning-struck branch that burned and was doused by the rain. I should have kept my faith. Why is it so easy for me to lose it?

“You died, right?” Rabbitkit asked.

“Death isn’t always the end for those chosen by StarClan to lead their Clan,” Mistwalk said. For the first time in what felt like lifetimes, her tail rose. “Oh, Featherfall, my love, this couldn’t have happened to a better cat!”

Featherfall sighed heavily. Her posture was hunched, and she drooped with weariness. “I’m not a leader, Mistwalk. I didn’t come back because of—” she glanced at the barn cats “—why you think I did.”

Mistwalk trotted toward her. “You’re too humble for your own good! Oh, Featherfall—” she interrupted herself with a laugh, “—what am I saying?”

She crouched before Featherfall, bowing her head as she had seasons ago for Whisperstar.

“Not Featherfall. Not anymore. You stopped the Ruler’s evil just as the rain smothered the burning branch, and StarClan blessed you for your sacrifice. Now, you’re Featherstar.”

Mistwalk found that she was trembling, still in shock. She ignored that and yowled as she would for any leader, “Featherstar! Featherstar! Featherstar!”

Her friend sighed and looked away.

Laura’s Notes: Tune in next week for Season 2 of my Sims 3 Warrior Cats Challenge!

[poop4u]

The Challenge of Pet Dog Training

#Poop4U

A top handler said, after Maggie and I had had a rough run at a sheepdog trial last month, “You’re in good company, this is hardest thing I’ve ever done”. Bless them for their compassion. I’ve probably heard that ten times this summer, from people who in their other lives are accomplished professionals who work challenging jobs. Doing well at the highest level of a sheepdog competition is indeed a challenge–the number of factors that influence each and every one of your split-second decisions are endless.

That said, I want to take a moment to look at pet dog training, and give a shout out to everyone who does it, both personally and professionally. The fact is that it has its challenges too, the primary one being that we are “training” our companion dogs every second of the day that we are with them. Whether we call it training or not, our dogs are learning every moment that we are with them. For many of us, that includes when we are in a rush in the morning, stressed about the meeting that we are already late for, and when we are sprawled on the couch, exhausted from a long day and wanting nothing more than to cuddle with Smudges or Sushi and stroke her belly until our ridiculous, escapist television show is over.

Dogs who live in kennels and only come out for training are primed to pay attention to everything their human says or does.  They have no opportunity to learn bad habits, and to discover how incredibly inconsistent humans inherently are. But I love having my dogs in the house with me, even though I want working, competition dogs who listen to every nuanced signal I send at a competition. I think all of us, no matter what we do with our dogs, want them trained well enough to listen and respond when we need them to.

So how do we handle the fact that it’s impossible to be “on” all the time when we’re at home?  To need to be consistent when we inherently are not? Here are a few thoughts; I am looking forward to other good ideas from you.

Mostly importantly, make a choice: Decide what two or three cues are critical, and focus on being consistent with them. For example, any Border Collie who lives here at the farm has to be 100% responsive when I say Lie Down, and when I call them back to me. Otherwise, it would not be safe to let them off leash anywhere, in the front yard where we play every morning, on walks in the woods, at sheepdog clinics and competitions. Those contexts are essential to our quality of life, and so those cues are the most critical.

You’d think just two cues would be easy to use consistently, but I find that it’s easy to jumble things up. For example, Maggie’s recall is “Pup Pup”, but I began using “Here” after I started teaching her to shed. “Here” means “Come in toward me and then focus on the sheep that I’m facing and drive then away from the others”.  Although “Pup Pup” and “Here” have similar meanings–come to me–they are used in such different contexts that I am wise to keep them apart. But recently I noticed that Jim and I were both saying “Here” just to call her to come when out and about. Not a crisis, but not ideal.

And of course, there’s the seductive desire to use a variety of other words in place of one, single recall signal. My biggest pet peeve (Ha! And yes, I did mean that pun.) is a dog’s name being used to mean, well, just about anything. If I’ve said “Maggie, what?” to Jim once, I’ve said it a thousand times. But the jokes on me, because sometimes I do it too–say a dog’s name with no more information to follow. If a dog’s name is to get their attention, then you need to follow it up with what you want your dog to do. “Read my mind” is not a reasonable expectation.

Being consistent is anathema to being human; that’s why we need to work so hard on it. It’s especially difficult if you live with several others. That’s part of why I suggest focusing on just a few cues that are essential. It’s hard enough to work on yourself, but even harder to get everyone else in the house to work on too. Especially if you’re the one who feels its importance. A lot of my clients had success with a family conference, agreeing on 2 or 3 cues that are essential and how they were going to say and use them consistently. Perhaps most importantly, you might figure out a positive reinforcement scheme to reward your family for playing the game. Guard against nagging, the bug-a-boo of all training paradigms, and the easiest trap to fall into. (Reinforce yourself for reinforcing!)

Last advice: Let it go. If it’s not in the Essential category, and you or your family uses it inconsistently, let it go. At least while you work on the others. In spite of my argument that we need to be consistent ourselves to get consistent results, dogs can understand contexts, and learn to not jump up on you, while leaping into your husband’s arms every night when he comes home. They can learn the couch is fair game when you’re home, but not when company comes. But, of course, it’s harder for them to figure out the context, so be thoughtful about where you draw the line.

I could go on forever about this topic, but I’m curious about you–if you had to pick 2-3 cues that are most essential for you and you family to work on, what would they be? How consistent are you, and with what cues? How about the rest of the family?  I can’t wait to read what you have to say.

  MEANWHILE, back on the farm: Just back from a fabulous three-day sheepdog training clinic with Patrick Shannahan. I am confident in saying that Maggie’s brain is as full as mine; lots of great information to process. At one point I thought both our heads would explode when what Maggie and I thought was a perfect, PERFECT fetch was, uh, not. Maggie was bringing the sheep on a straight line to me, even though they desperately wanted to run to the right back to their buddies. What could be wrong with that? But I quickly got Patrick’s point that she was using her body, or her physical presence to keep them in line, when she should have been using just her eye. If the sheep were in the center of a clock face and I was at 6:00, Maggie was at about 2:30. If she’d been just a hair over to the left, around 2:15, she would have had a better hold of them by using the power of her eye rather than the presence of her body.

I totally get the theory. However, the reality will be a challenge. Teaching Maggie to scooch over just a few inches (too many inches over, and she’d lose them when they take off in a dead run to the others) is going to take some work. And faith on my part that Maggie will figure it out and work through the confusion. Patrick was clear–if you want to learn to be an advanced handler, that’s the kind of distinction you need to be able to make. Well, we have all winter to work on it, lucky us. And I can’t wait to get started.

Overall it was a glorious weekend–Maggie and I will be processing what we learned for a long time to come, the weather was nippy but accommodating, our host–Thank you Laura!–kept everything running smoothly and fed us like royalty, and there was lots of time to talk and laugh with good friends. Now that Maggie is older, she is able to lie quietly at my feet and watch everyone else’s session, so we spent almost all three days outside, together and loving our life. Lucky us.

A few photos:

You can almost feel the sheep’s desire to go to the right (their left) in this photo of Maggie fetching the sheep to me. (Thank you Julie for taking the photo!)

Here’s a shot of the area where we spent all of Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Life is good when you get to look at this for three days running!

It did mean getting up pretty early every morning to drive to the clinic. But I got lots of reinforcement for it even before we got to the clinic site:

This ewe decided she’d rather spectate than work. Fit right in.

Maggie says thank you to Patrick Shannahan and Laura W for such a wonderful, informative clinic!

  Poop4U Blog via www.Poop4U.com Trisha, Khareem Sudlow

[kelpieking]

New Year same resolution

I obviously keep my blog going as much as I ever kept my diary. I am quite keen to give this blogging thing a go. So with my time on Easdale now limited I thought what better way than maybe just starting to share what island life is like. 

When I started writing this apparently it was Friday though really days of the week have little meaning apart from purely titles. As I am self-employed, work days are whenever there is work on and with my trying to develop my seaweed company, nearly every day can be a work day. There is a memory, an echo of what weekends are and I am reminded of them because there are occasions when I can enjoy them with my wife, who lives and works in Glasgow and who is coming up by train this evening. Back to today, Friday 26th of January, I am providing crew cover on the Easdale ferry, a 7am start and 11pm finish, it is a fair long day, though not really that trying in the winter. Yes the days may be short on daylight and indeed often wet, windy or cold or a mixture of all three, but when it is sunny, then it is all worth it. Plus there is such thing as a winter timetable, so through-out the day from 10:15, the ferry runs every 30 minutes and from 19:30 again every 30 minutes until 21:00 with a 23:00 available on a Friday and Saturday. The ferry journey is only 5 minutes, depending on the weather of course. The wind direction is key during strong winds and gales. Easdale Sound runs on an almost direct north-south axis (something like 350-170 degrees axis), so anything from the north and especially the north west means the wind blows right down the sound and into the harbour at Ellenabeich where the ferry pulls into. Any westerly winds usually means big swells and these can run through the sound, and with an incoming tide creating wind-over-tide conditions, big waves and rollers with wash through and crash upon the shores and of course into Ellenabeich pier. 

So the winter is the time everyone pays particular attention to the weather forecast. The weather today, well so far living up to forecast: cold, clear, sunny and crisp up until lunchtime (13:00) and then clouding over with the chance of some rain or drizzle. Well the rain did arrive by 19:30 with a south easterly breeze has picking up slightly, probably due to swing to the west over night. It’s been a cool day, not very cold but a distinct chill in the air. Certainly cold enough first thing for a slight frost to hit the island, making some of the grass (and mud) crunch underfoot and any slate on the paths pretty slippy. My cottage is a actually pretty cold, the nature of building regulations for Easdale (a heritage conservation area) seeming to mean houses vary in their degree of heat retention and whether insulation can be put in. Mine doesn’t have such luxury, with no mains gas, there is no central heating just two storage heaters (though one is not working at the moment, I suspect a fuse has blown). At the moment every morning involves lighting the fire. As romantic as fires are, I mean nothing is visually warming to the mind and heart as a roaring fire and of course it literally does warm one up, I don’t think it is something many folk across the UK think about having to do. And to get at least part of the cottage warm, I have to light my fire (or if feeling lazy turn the oven on). The fire has been lit all day and so my living room was duly toasty, then again I am also quite well wrapped up for spending the day out on the ferry. 

For some reason I was a wee bit sleepy all day, luckily my skipper is as fond of coffee as I am so we were operating on freshly ground strong coffee for much of the day. It is a good thing of being on the ferry, one does get time on occasion to do other things between ferry runs. At lunchtime I managed to make bread. I had the option of asking someone who was in town to bring a loaf back (I am about to run out) but figured just as easy to bake some. 

Yes that it is the thing about being on the ferry for a few days, and generally living on an island or any remote place: planning ahead with meals and making do if you have forgotten to pick up something in town. Because Oban is 16 miles up the road, so 32 mile round trips do generally have to encompass more than just getting a pint of milk. 

Back the day, well the island is home to a very healthy population of voles, you can see their wee run routes through the grass. Two of them took up residence in my cottage and despite a few capture and releases, they have come back in. I have narrowed down where they live, in the built in cupboard where the fuse boxes are and the washing machine is. In fact I think they live beneath the washing machine, which sits upon a small pallet. Well of course the previous week it was stormy and snowy and cold, so I couldn’t capture and release them into that now! Realising that actually the reason why they roam around the cottage so much is because they are hungry, I have decided to start some feeding experiments. Currently they are eating between 12g and 14g of bird seed a day, with some indication that they really like sunflower seeds, and given the option of pine nuts, will eat the bird seed first. The reason I decided to start feeding my voles is the night I realised that one was climbing over my bed and ran along the top of my pillow. I could hear them trying to gnaw through something underneath my bed, discovered it was forgotten chocolate in a present bag that had been knocked under the bed and promptly got rid of it. I then put out some bird feed, watched it nibble some then start scrabbling at the bedroom door to get out and back to its mate. The feeding started after that night of little sleep. Since then, no more voley experiences, though I can hear them in the little cupboard. So today I separated out the sunflower seeds within the 16g of bird feed I put out for them, 2g of sunflower seeds and 14g of generic seeds. I predict the sunflower seed will be gone first. 

Friday wasn’t a bad wildlife day I suppose, saw the kestrel hovering over the island and on the otherside, two buzzards soaring above the cliffs overlooking Ellenabeich and the otter was sighted in the sound.

A student arrived in the afternoon, someone who is going to develop on-line registration for the World Stone Skimming Championships, thanks to a successful Interface application by the Stone Skimming committee. The student seems very nice and eager to get working. 

The day closed with having to run up to Oban to collect my wife, Dr B, and an ever stiffening breeze. I did manage to bake some bread and tidy the cottage up a bit, so felt quite productive.

The last ferry was for the darts teams, with the returning Easdale team having been victorious and the departing Oyster team also having been victorious against the second Easdale team.

So this is going up after the weekend which is a bit silly, I might as well make note of what else happened on the island on Saturday.

Saturday the first ferry is at 7:45 so still feels early. The morning started off wet and a wee bit windy. However as the day wore on, the wind picked up in strength and despite the forecast being for cloud, the sun and blue sky did breakthrough. The wind started off from the south and as the day wore on brought in squally heavy showers. Needless to say one of the first things I did after the 7:45 was to light the fire. Dr B had marking to do and so spent the day working through her students dissertations. 

And the wind just slowly increased in speed and with an inevitability swung round to the west, blasting right down Easdale sound. When the tide is on the ebb, generally the sound is calmer when the wind is from the west as it is wind with tide. However, there seemed to be plenty of wave action getting through, so much so we were a bit concerned about when the tide would turn. For this reason Mellon took the web design student off the island and back up to Oban to catch his train. 

I was treated to lunch in the Puffer by Dr B, which was delightful along with a much needed coffee. We discussed aspects of the dissertation she was marking. Young Fin and Laura were in as well, so we were all duly distracted by Fin and reading some of his books, especially the bird one which made noises! Ok Fin is like 15 months old so they are baby books, but very cool books. Now I quite like to take a walk at lunchtime if I am on the ferry just to have a bit of exercise. Of course I never made it all the way round the island, the sound of crashing waves on the back shore meant I ended up just standing and watching, considering the importance of wave action on the distribution of seaweeds on the shoreline and then considering the sea foam and what might be contained within. I scurried back to my cottage (Dr B was still in the Puffer) to grab a petri dish and headed back to the backshore to scoop up some foam. My intention was to have a look at it using my USB microscope, though this did not in the end prove very successful, so I will try again. 

Dr B made a very tasty veg lasagne for tea. By 18:15 (the last ferry before tea) the wind was coming fully from the west and was bringing big gusts making it difficult to get back out of Ellenabeich. By 19:30 it was bad enough for the ferry to be called off. I used the time to prepare for travelling down to London for A Taste of Argyll at the House of Commons that I am partaking in. We did no further ferry runs, for in the dark with unknown ferocious squalls blasting through, it is a risky challenge to take the wee ferry into Ellenabeich and then turn it around to get back to Easdale. It’s not the most manoeuvrable of vessels and the engine has been known to cut out on occasion. So by 21:00 we secured the ferry and called it a night. Dr B and I then went to the Puffer for a cheeky drink (just the one, ok maybe two pints of Aurora by Windswept). Then we called it a night at 10pm. We were both pretty sleepy, though we did squeeze in one episode of Black Mirror before going to bed. 

And that was two days on the island during January, the dark month.